A delightful, fizzy traditional ginger beer. This is a lacto ferment so the results will depend on the lacto bateria in your kitchen and will likely vary from your friend’s efforts.
Ingredients
| Quantity | Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | L | water (chlorine free) |
| 500 | g | sugar |
| 200 - 250 | g | ginger |
| 3 | whole | star anise |
| 30 | whole | dried black peppercorns |
| 12 | whole | allspice berries |
| 12 | whole | cardamom pods |
| 3 | whole | cloves |
| 200 | ml | ginger beer bug |
Directions
Fill a pot with the water and sugar and start to bring it up to temperature.
Chop the ginger up finely and add to the pot.
Now add the spices and stir it gently together.
Bring the pot to a simmer and keep it simmering for 30 minutes.
Take it off the heat and strain the mixture into a container.
Allow the liquid to cool down to room temperature. Failure to do so will result in killing the ginger bug.
Add the ginger bug into the container.
Let it stand for 1 - 3 days, depending on the level of fermentation you require. A longer fermentation will reduce the sweetness and increase the sourness of the ginger beer.
If it’s not already in pressure rated bottles, transfer it to them a day or two prior to the completion of the fermentation. You want it to complete in the bottles so they come up to pressure. Experiment with the timing and find what you like.
Store the bottles in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. This will give you time to drink the ginger beer before it explodes. If you are keeping for longer than 5 - 7 days consider opening the bottles to release some pressure.
Notes
If you don’t already have a ginger beer bug you can learn how to make one with this recipe.